The Music For OZZY OSBOURNE's New Album Was Written And Recorded In Four Days

Rapper Post Malone's song "Take What You Want", featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott, recently debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 8. The track marked Osbourne's first Hot 100 top 10 in over 30 years, as the BLACK SABBATH singer broke the record for the most time between top 10s in the chart's 61-year history. The song appears on Post Malone's new LP "Hollywood's Bleeding", which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

In a brand new interview with Billboard, Post Malone's producer, Andrew Watt, spoke about how he got Ozzy to guest on "Take What You Want". He said: "One night, Post was at the Rainbow Bar & Grill and saw this picture of Ozzy, and he bought it and took it home. When I heard that, I had this image of him walking down Sunset with that picture, and I was, like, 'I gotta make a song for Post and Ozzy.' I've said insane shit out loud before, and this was one of those times.

"I'd never met Ozzy before, but I had met his daughter [Kelly Osbourne]. I told her my idea and asked if she thought her dad would be into it. She's a Post fan, so she's, like, 'Yes, absolutely.' Then Ozzy got really sick and was in the hospital, so it was, like, 'He's gonna do it,' but then his health was taking longer, and it was, like, 'Is he gonna do it?' I just kept staying on Kelly and [Osbourne's wife] Sharon, and eventually they told me to come over. So we did it. That experience was incredible."

The unlikely collaboration led to Watt helming production for Ozzy's upcoming solo album, "Ordinary Man". Recorded in Los Angeles, the album features Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) on bass and Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums.

"The day after [the vocals for 'Take What You Want' were recorded], Ozzy texted me, like, 'I want you to make an album with me,'" Andrew recalled. "I was, like, that would be amazing, but can I do this? I picked up the phone and called up Chad Smith. I said, 'Dude, Ozzy just asked me to make an album for him. Are you down to do it?' And he said, 'Are you fucking kidding me? When?' Then I called up Duff McKagan from GUNS N' ROSES and he said, 'Are you fucking kidding me? When?'

"We wrote and recorded Ozzy's entire album, musically, in four days. There was no premeditation. The three of us just got in my basement, put on headphones, looked at each other, and wrote 12 songs, 10 of which constitute the album. It was magic. I don't even remember it. Then Ozzy came over to my basement to listen to the music. I played him all 10 tracks at full volume, and at the end he just goes, 'It's cool.' And my heart just fuckin' went into my gut. He was, like, 'I'll call you tomorrow.' Stands up, gets his cane, goes upstairs. I go, 'Oh my God, he hated it! What do I do?' He calls me the next day, like, 'Okay, so when do we start writing?' I sound like I'm making this up, but he comes over the next day, and we made Ozzy's entire album from top to bottom — all music, guitar solos, all vocals written — in four weeks. It's the proudest of anything I've ever been, because it brought the 12-year-old kid out of me again. Don't get me wrong, I love the pop music that I make, but this is what I feel like I was born to do: play rock guitar. I got to be fuckin' Randy Rhoads in 2019."

Two songs from "Ordinary Man" have been released so far: the anti-drug anthem "Straight To Hell", featuring a guitar solo by GUNS N' ROSES' Slash, and the ballad "Under The Graveyard", which was Osbourne's first new solo song in nearly a decade.

Back in 2014, the now-29-year-old Watt released one album with CALIFORNIA BREED, the short-lived project featuring former DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and THE CIRCLE drummer Jason Bonham.

Ozzy has not released an all-new solo effort since 2010's "Scream", having spent the last few years touring with BLACK SABBATH in support of that band's "13" LP, as well as playing a number of solo shows. More recently, Osbourne has been recuperating at home after sustaining a bad neck injury resulting in the postponement of his solo tour.